Hotel/Transfer Advice

[sam'smominco]

Hello!

Like many on this board we are WDW "experts" but novices at DLR. After moving to Seattle this past year, the thought of dragging our two young kids on a flight to Orlando is less than appealing so we are giving DLR a try!

We arrive after 10pm into SNA and are checking into the GCH the next morning for the next three nights. I did not want to shell out the big bucks for our first night since we are going to be getting in so late. Originally I thought we would just stay by the airport since we will be arriving so late. However, then DH made the point that we would be better off making the drive from SNA to DL at 11pm at night than during rush hour the next morning. So I need a basic, no-thrills hotel just for our first night. We will be out of there bright and early so nothing fancy needed.

Ideally I would like something w/i walking distance of GCH so that we can just drag our luggage and kids with us without having to get a cab. Any suggestions? Is this even possible or am I asking for trouble? Everyone says that the good neighbor hotels are so close but I have a hard time envisioning us with our two kids and two suitcases walking to DL. If we booked a hotel with a shuttle to DL, would they allow us to take our luggage with us?

Also, we will need some way to get from SNA to our hotel that night. I really don't want to have to drag car seats/booster seats with us just for that one ride to and from the airport. So I would like to book some sort of car service that provides car seats (similar to Tiffany Town Car in Orlando for those familiar). Any recommendations? What sort of price range should I expect?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[DangerMouse]

The only hotel I can imagine in walking distance to the GCH would be The Anabella. Here's the website:

http://www.anabellahotel.com/

It can be found on this map here:

http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/

 

[Sienna]

In terms of finding something within walking distance of GCH, I don't think you're going to find anything that's inexpensive AND convenient, especially if you're going to walk with suitcases, kids, and possibly carseats. One thing to be wary of is that the blocks are very long, so if it says "3 blocks from DL," well, that could very well be a mile or more! The maps are kindof deceiving. We arrived in SNA on a Friday morning around 9am and took a cab to DL, which took about 15-20 minutes. We were in the carpool lane and didn't hit any traffic. I think it is possible for you to stay near the airport that first night - you shouldn't encounter any traffic-related problems the next morning.

 

[Dobie]

We were in that same situation a couple of years ago. We stayed at the Sheraton Anaheim, which is definately not walking distance. We very easily caught a cab from the Sheraton to the GCH the next morning--it took 5 minutes and was, as I recall, just a few dollars. We checked in at 7:30 am, and although our room was not ready, they held our bags for us until afternoon.

 

[Hound 109]

The only hotel I can imagine in walking distance to the GCH would be The Anabella. Here's the website:

http://www.anabellahotel.com/

It can be found on this map here:

http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/

I agree that the Annabelle or the Best Western Stoval would be "walking distance" (300-400 yards) w/o having to "schlep" through DTD or DLR. Look at DM's map.

What "date" are you checking in (& checking out) of the GCH?

I agree with your DH. Much better to be 300 yards from DLR than 15 miles at 7am.

Don't know about the car seat issue.

 

[janc]

I don't know if its possible but could you switch your fly out times? We always catch the 6am Alaska flight out of Sea Tac. We are at our hotel somewhere between 12 and 1 pm, they hold our luggage and we do DL for half a day.

 

[sam'smominco]

I agree that the Annabelle or the Best Western Stoval would be "walking distance" (300-400 yards) w/o having to "schlep" through DTD or DLR. Look at DM's map.

What "date" are you checking in (& checking out) of the GCH?

I agree with your DH. Much better to be 300 yards from DLR than 15 miles at 7am.

Don't know about the car seat issue.

We are checking in on Friday April 18 and out on Monday. We will have almost four days in the parks since we don't leave til late on Monday and will be there first thing Friday morning.

I would rather be close to DLR as well so we can get it going ASAP when we wake up. I just don't want to have to deal with cabs b/c they normally don't offer car seats and I don't want to bring ours. I guess one of us could take a cab with all the luggage and the other one can walk over to the GCH with the kids. I am such a stickler for car seats, I could never let me kids ride in a car even for a short distance without them.

 

[sam'smominco]

I don't know if its possible but could you switch your fly out times? We always catch the 6am Alaska flight out of Sea Tac. We are at our hotel somewhere between 12 and 1 pm, they hold our luggage and we do DL for half a day.

We wanted to minimize the amount of time DH had to take off from work and DS had to miss preschool so we chose an evening flight. We used to do the evening flight approach on our trips to WDW this way....that way we take less vacation time and are there at the parks first thing.

 

[Hound 109]

We are checking in on Friday April 18 and out on Monday. We will have almost four days in the parks since we don't leave til late on Monday and will be there first thing Friday morning.

I would rather be close to DLR as well so we can get it going ASAP when we wake up. I just don't want to have to deal with cabs b/c they normally don't offer car seats and I don't want to bring ours. I guess one of us could take a cab with all the luggage and the other one can walk over to the GCH with the kids. I am such a stickler for car seats, I could never let me kids ride in a car even for a short distance without them.

The reason i asked was I was curious if you were going to try to do MM the first day. (but Friday isn't a MM day....so no worries there). A few thoughts:

- The cab might be a good idea for the luggage. But if you don't need one, don't bother. Either way....the walk from the motels DM & i mentioned to the GCH would be would be NO problem for the adult & two children.

- If it was me.....I'd stay at the Annabelle & do the walk at 6:30-6:45am.

- Give yourself 10 min. to walk, 20 min. to dump you bags at GCH, 10 min. to walk to the DLR gate (thru DTD). DL opens at 8am that morning fwiw.

- If you get there early, grab some munchies at the GCH or the bakery in DTD to munch on prior to rope drop.

- Be very aware of the walking routes thru DTD to DL & the side entrance into DCA from your hotel. It will save you time & is a great benny. (for example ride Griz Rapids in DCA prior to your mid day break on Sat/Sun, get WET! & then walk 100 yards to your room via the secret entrance. )

- Utilize your fabulous location for mid day breaks.

- My DS(9) & I will be at DLR on that Sun & Mon. See you on the Matterhorn & on Toadie early on Monday.

- Have fun.

 

[sam'smominco]

The reason i asked was I was curious if you were going to try to do MM the first day. (but Friday isn't a MM day....so no worries there). A few thoughts:

- The cab might be a good idea for the luggage. But if you don't need one, don't bother. Either way....the walk from the motels DM & i mentioned to the GCH would be would be NO problem for the adult & two children.

- If it was me.....I'd stay at the Annabelle & do the walk at 6:30-6:45am.

- Give yourself 10 min. to walk, 20 min. to dump you bags at GCH, 10 min. to walk to the DLR gate (thru DTD). DL opens at 8am that morning fwiw.

- If you get there early, grab some munchies at the GCH or the bakery in DTD to munch on prior to rope drop.

- Be very aware of the walking routes thru DTD to DL & the side entrance into DCA from your hotel. It will save you time & is a great benny. (for example ride Griz Rapids in DCA prior to your mid day break on Sat/Sun, get WET! & then walk 100 yards to your room via the secret entrance. )

- Utilize your fabulous location for mid day breaks.

- My DS(9) & I will be at DLR on that Sun & Mon. See you on the Matterhorn & on Toadie early on Monday.

- Have fun.

Thanks so much for all of your advice! Being a WDW "expert" I have the basic "rules" down but it helps to get a different perspective since DLR has its own quirks. I think I saw that DCA opens at 10am on Friday so we might do that for a few hours rather than trying to get to DL prior to opening. I know we could easily hit a 10am opening. We have dining reservations at Blue Bayou for a late lunch that day so we will be at DL at some point. And then use MM on Saturday and Sunday. Does that sound like a good idea? We will be back at DL Monday morning too b/c we have a late breakfast reservation at the Plaza restaurant (also have a Goofy's Kitchen ressie on Saturday to round out our sit-down dining options).

We will definitely utilize the mid-day break at the GCH. With a 2-year-old and 4-year-old, that is a must. Our typical WDW patterns consist of park opening, mid-day break of about 4 hours for nap and swim, and then back for dinner and evening festivities til park close.

I see you are in Austin. Ironically I am heading to Austin and San Antonio this weekend for the Final Four. Go Jayhawks!